Football Party Ideas and Tailgating Tips | Free Printables

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It’s almost time to kickoff the College Football season and we’re ready to cheer on one of our favorite College football teams! Go Texas! Today, I’m sharing how you can whip up a football party from start to finish to share your spirit all season long.

Setting up a table is super easy with a few DIY decorations, food and themed party tableware and I’m sharing my easy Football Party Ideas and tips!

Football Party Ideas

First start with your team colors to create your color palette. Our team’s colors are Red, Black and White which coordinate perfectly with our favorite Game Day soda, Coke. Have you seen the new Coke 28 packs available at SAM’s Club? I love that they are ready to go with “Team” spirit! You can find them on the end cap by the soda aisle. You know you can’t have an awesome football party without awesome food, I always stock up at SAM’s Club before Game Day. Did you know you can also order everything you need at SAM’s Club online and pick it up in the Club? Party planning doesn’t get easier than that!

Once you have stocked up on all the party necessities at SAM’s Club; cook up a batch of Sweet & Spicy Chicken Wings, Coca-Cola Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes (recipes below), hot dogs and dip along with some Football Cocoa Rice Krispie treats and Coke Floats.

Next, add a few decor items that can be used throughout the season such as a football field table runner. I made one out of artificial grass and some white painter’s tape, it literally took me minutes to make and I will be using it all season long. Simply cut the grass to size and add strips of tape, it’s really that easy.

Fill football themed paper products with popcorn and coordinating gumballs, and fill party favor boxes with whistles and trinkets for the kids. Don’t forget about half time activities! Print out my Free Football Bingo (below) to keep the little ones entertained during half time.

Football Party Decorations

It’s just not a football party without decorations! You can whip up some awesome decorations in no time at all, from the centerpiece to hanging decor!

Football Letter Centerpiece Tutorial

Create a fun football field centerpiece with just a little bit of paint and tape in a matter of minutes!

For this project, you will need paper mache letters of your choice and Americana Paint in Festive Green by DecoArt, white painters tape and a foam brush.

Using the foam brush, apply two coats of paint to the front face of the letters.

Next, add strips of tape as shown.

For the first and last letters, add a few shorter strips of tape in between the lines.

For extra detail, you can add a foam football available at most craft stores with a little double sided tape. And that’s it! An easy DIY centerpiece with big impact!

Football Play Backdrop

Another quick and easy DIY, is this Football Play Backdrop. All you need is a black poster board and some white paint to make your own faux blackboard! Super simple and affordable.

Free Team Spirit Pennant Printable

Looking for free football decorations? I’m sharing the pennant I made in our favorite team colors. These are perfect for tablescapes and also great to hang at your tailgating party. Just print and cut, then add string to hang. Print as many as you like! Download the file HERE.

Free Printable Football Cupcake Toppers

If your team colors are black and red, you’re gonna love these Football cupcake toppers! Just print them on card-stock, cut with a circle punch and glue them to coordinating paper straws. Place them on your cupcakes for added flair. You can also use them without sticks as favor tags! Download them HERE.

Party Tableware

Themed tableware is a must have for any party and it’s so fun to add extra details to your table with coordinating paper goods. Cardboard lap trays are perfect for Game Day, both at home and when tailgating at the game. I picked up a bunch of lap trays from my local movie theater some time ago and we reuse them all the time, especially since they are our team’s colors!

Just add a few football themed ice cream cups for chips and football print trays for the chicken wings and stack them for the guests to help themselves to the goodies.

I also used black and white paper party bags to wrap the hot dogs. Don’t they look like little referees? I also used black and white striped baking cups to serve the dip and celery.

I love paper straws, so when I saw these straws with little footballs, I had to have them for our party.

Party Food

One of the best things about Game Day is the food! And nothing says Game Day like Hot Dogs and Chicken Wings. Add some celery sticks, ranch dip and chips and you are sure to please the crowd! Of course, don’t forget the desserts. You can’t go wrong with Cupcakes, Chocolate Football Cereal Treats and Coke Floats!

Sweet & Spicy Coke Chicken Wings Recipe

Chicken Wings are a family favorite. I always make a huge batch for Game Day. I whipped up a batch of simple Sweet & Spicy Coke Chicken Wings for our party along with a batch of BBQ wings for those who can’t handle the heat.

Ingredients:

24 chicken wings

1 can Coke

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 tbs crushed red pepper

1 tbs minced dried onion

For easy clean up, place the chicken wings in a foil lined baking dish. In a medium bowl, wisk all the ingredients well then pour the marinade over the chicken wings and bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Turn the chicken and bake for an additional 15 minutes. To caramelize the wings, increase the temperature to Broil on High for the last 5-8 minutes. Serve in a Football shaped tray with celery sticks and ranch dressing for the perfect presentation!

Coca-Cola Chocolate Cherry Cupcakes Recipe

I have seen several versions of soda pop cupcakes and have been wanting to give them a try. So, I decided to make my own Coca-Cola Chocolate Cherry cupcakes for our party. They were super easy and delicious.

Ingredients:

1 box of Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

1 12 oz. can Coca Cola

1 12 oz. jar of maraschino cherries

Drain the maraschino cherries, leaving 1/3 cup juice and blend with a hand blender. Combine the cake mix, Coke and cherries. Mix with a hand mixer for 2 minutes and scoop batter into cupcake liners filing the liners about 3/4 full. Bake at 325 degrees for 24 minutes. The cupcakes are dense but also very moist and the cherry chunks add great texture. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

No time to bake? Check out the bakery at SAM’s Club, I love their vanilla cupcakes!

Coke Floats

Another family favorite on Game Day, are Coke Floats. All you need is your favorite ice-cream and a can of Coke. Scoop the ice-cream in a pretty Coke glass and pour the soda. Just add a football paper straw and you’re all set!

Half-Time Activities

Download my FREE Football Bingo Game, perfect for half-time at home while watching the game or tailgating at the stadium! We love to use candy for game markers. Sign up for my newsletter to download the game HERE.

Tailgate Party Checklist

Don’t limit these ideas to at home parties! Take the party with you! Download my Tailgate GAME DAY Checklist.

Well, that’s it! My easy ideas and tips on how you can share your spirit with Coke and have a Football Party all season long! I hope you are inspired to create your own football party and don’t forget to check out the 28 pack of Coke and Diet Coke at SAMs Club!

See you at the playoffs!

Disclosure: I received some products from Oriental Trading included in this post, however all opinions are my own.

About Michelle

Hi there! I'm Michelle, founder of Michelle’s Party Plan-It; a blog dedicated to easy party ideas, crafts and recipes for life’s celebrations. As a wife and working mother of three, I know how important time saving tips and ideas are for the busy parent. I specialize in sharing quick, yet impressive entertaining ideas for all occasions. I also enjoy styling parties for my favorite craft and décor companies.

SUCH a fun party! I want to come over and watch football at your house. I love what you did with the letters. Great idea. I haven’t seen that done before. All the food looks so good too. I’m not even hungry and I want to eat those wings right now 😀

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